NBA veterans to see action in Commissioner's Cup

ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines – Teams of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) have tabbed former NBA players for the upcoming Commissioner’s Cup when the mid-season tournament kicks off on February 8.

According to the PBA website, almost all of the imports who are seeing action in the Commissioner’s Cup have arrived in the country, with San Mig import Matt Rogers the latest to arrive after flying in Monday morning.

San Mig initially wanted to bring back Denzel Bowles, who led the Coffee Mixers to last season’s Commissioner Cup crown, but he was under contract with the Chinese Basketball Association.

Instead, San Mig picked Rogers, who has played in the NBA D-League, as well as in the Summer League.

Among the imports, it is Petron’s Renaldo Balkman who has the most impressive NBA resume, having been a former first-round draft pick who played six seasons in the league, with stints at the the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets.

Talk 'N Text, meanwhile, is bringing in 6-foot-11 Keith Benson, who was a second-round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and played mostly in the NBA D-League. He was signed by Golden State Warriors briefly in March 2012.

In an interview with Snow Badua, TNT assistant coach Josh Reyes said Benson’s skill set was a good fit for head coach Norman Black’s system.

Rain or Shine will have the tallest import in the conference after picking 7-foot-2 center Bruno Sundov. The Croatian player was a second-round pick in the 1998 NBA Draft and played for five different NBA teams as well as different European teams.

Ginebra’s Herbert Hill, meanwhile, was a second-round pick of the Utah Jazz in the 2007 draft.

Meralco’s Eric Dawson and GlobalPort’s Justin Williams were both undrafted, but Dawson saw action with the Austin Toros in the NBA D-League, while Williams played for the Dakota Wizards and the Sacramento Kings in 2007.

Alaska has picked 6-foot-9 forward Robert Dozier, who was taken by Miami with the last pick in the 2009 NBA draft and played for the Heat in the 2012 Summer League.

Barako Bull, meanwhile, will play with 6-foot-9 Evan Brock.

No PBA team is fielding a returning import, although Reyes told Badua that former TNT import Donelle Harvey remains on stand-by.